Her Portrait In Black
by BleedingHeartsoftheWorldUnite
Summary: Nursing doubts about their relationship, Chris and Robin learn that the most important thing in a relationship is communication. Post RE5, ChrisxOC, sequel to "Not Meant For Me", recap inside
1. Chase The Morning

_**The Story So Far...**_

**Robin Burton, a survivor of Raccoon City and Barry Burton's adopted daughter, has been in love with Chris Redfield for a majority of her life, but she had kept it a secret. On her first mission as a BSAA operative-in-training, in her birth father's native county of Finland, Robin encounters a rival for Chris' attention. Mistaking identities, she is overwhelmed by her emotions and abandons the mission. Finding out that she has gone missing, Chris goes after Robin, realizing not only her feelings, but his own as well. In the wilderness, Robin is mauled by a mutated bear, but she is saved by Leon S. Kennedy. Partnering up, his mission to arrest one Noah Walker for blackmail, hers to bring him in for involvement with the Uroboros Project, they defeat the now mutated criminal, only to be contacted by his boss. After taunting Robin, they find files about Noah's mission, files that confirm the President's guilt in a number of underground operations. After reuniting with Chris, they leave the bunker before it self-destructs. Robin and Chris begin sneaking around behind her father's back...  
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Waking up in his arms was exactly where she wanted to be every morning, not waking up after spending the night in the bathroom, head submerged in the toilet. But that was life. Sometimes people got sick, and sometimes they got to enjoy a good nights rest in bed with with their lover. Lover. It had been a little over month since Finland, and Robin still wasn't used to calling Chris hers. Maybe it was the doubt that nagged in the back of her mind that told her that he was only with her out of the scare of thinking that he had lost her, but whatever it was, the feeling was real and had no intentions of leaving.

Scrubbing her hands in the sink for the fifth time that morning, Robin looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her jet-black hair was lank, hanging from her shoulders in an unkempt curtain, her amber-grey eyes were rimmed in puffy black bags, and her skin seemed paler than usual. She was a mess, and her stomach just wouldn't settle itself down, no matter how much medicine she took. Wiping bile away from her face with a piece of toilet paper she tore from the roll, she glared at the toilet, feeling another wave of nausea.

Standing on the other side of the bathroom door, homemade breakfast considerately laid out for the both of them, Chris knocked on the door worriedly, "Are you alright in there?"

Not caring that she was in his house, she locked the door so that he couldn't see her like this, going right back to the throne before she had the chance to redecorate the floor, "Does it sound like I'm bloody ok?"

Cringing back from her wrath, he thought about calling Barry to come pick her up, but since she was supposed to be with her friend Katie right now, he knew that that would be ruining the secrecy that she had worked so hard to keep. Her father had no idea that they had been seeing each other these past few weeks, and though he wanted to tell him, Robin had begged him not to. Barry was his best friend, and he felt as if he owed him the truth, but Robin just kept keeping it a secret. Wondering if maybe she was ashamed of him for whatever reason, he held his tongue on the matter. But this sounded serious...

Thinking suddenly of cute little Rebecca Chambers, an ordinary doctor now, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, but Robin's voice on the other side of the door stopped him before he could bring up her number, "I think the worst is over now. Why don't you put the phone away while I take a shower?"

Trusting her judgement, even though it left a knot in his own stomach, he obeyed her, putting his phone back. She knew her body better than anyone else, and if she felt fine, why not listen to her? Besides, maybe all she needed was a good yak... A hundred of them...

**His Primary Job Done ...**

Leon had done all he could do with the information, so now it was up to the people and the Congress to decide what do to with the President. No, that wasn't strictly true. He had done all he could do pertaining to the fate of his country, but he had the feeling that he could still help Robin. It felt like they had been through so much together, and after all he had found the information with her by his side, so he reasoned that it was natural to be thinking of her. Besides, he thought that she might have questions about the man who had spoken to them after they had killed Noah - He knew that he did. At the very least, he should ask her about her take on the matter before heading out.

That's what he thought when he had left Washington, but now that he was in her hometown, surrounded by the people that she strived to protect, Leon wondered if it was right to be dragging her into this, whether she was willing to go with him or not. She had a family, and he was skeptical that the life of an agent was really what she wanted. It wasn't that he professed to know her or what she wanted - that was unlikely after their limited time together - he just thought that from the little bit he did know of her, she wasn't cut from the same fabric as Chris or himself.

He had called her almost as soon as he arrived in town, inquiring about lunch, adding that he had a proposal for her. Agreeing to meet with him in the middle of the week, she sounded as if she had caught some kind of stomach flu. Hopefully she would be better in time for their lunch date.

The little cafe they had agreed to meet at was full of couples and business groups, so he had to take a table outside. Considering the mild weather, that wasn't so bad, but the cars that drove by cut a bit too close to the fence for his preference. And the tables were small, leaving plenty of want for leg space - hopefully she would be aware of that. Standing up to greet her when he saw her getting out of a gigantic green jeep, she waved, smiling.

"Leon!" She ambled over to him, shaking his hand excitedly. After trudging through the snow and frigid atmosphere, it was interesting to see her dressed in plain jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Leon himself was wearing a hunter-green shirt and a navy windbreaker.

"No bandages?" He inquired at her bare head, her dark hair pulled back in loose loop, referring to the wounds she had sustained from the bear attack.

She crinkled her nose, "And ruin my hair? No, it actually wasn't as bad as it seemed back there. A few stitches, but that's nothing new for me."

Admiring her indifference to wear and tear, assuming that she had learned it from her idiotic, potentially life-threatening lifestyle, he rethought what she was made of, "I've never met a girl quite like you before."

Casting a suspicious glance over her shoulders, she leaned closer to him and whispered jokingly behind her hand, "That's because I wasn't always a woman."

Chuckling in amusement, Leon took his seat again, Robin following suit, though she sat slightly to the side. She was obviously aware of the cramped leg space. They ordered their lunch before getting to business; Leon got a burger and a cola, and becuase of her stomach being so finicky this week, she got ginger ale and soup, though she enviously wished that she could have gotten the same thing he did. Observing proper etiquette, Leon politely asked how she's been these past few weeks.

Setting aside the empty dishes, he paid for the meal, "So, how are things going?"

Taking a sip from her non-bendable straw, she began grinning like the love-struck idiot that she was, "Amazing! Well, Chris and I have been getting into it a lot lately... He wants to tell my father about us, but..." She trailed off, eyes downcast and mind a million miles away.

"You're afraid," He said insightfully, having dealt with more than enough women in his career to know certain things about their inner workings.

She nodded woefully, "I am... I am well aware that Chris does love me, but I can't help but wonder if it really is romantic love. Thinking that you lost someone can really put things in perspective, but it can also make you feel certain things that aren't necessarily true... I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm saying all of this. So, what brings you here?"

He got right to the point, "I'm going after Noah's boss, and I wanted to know if you wanted in."

For a fraction of a second, her expression faltered. Robin knew deep down that this meeting was going to have something to do with the mission in Finland, but with Chris on the mend after being poisoned by that viper, she wasn't so sure about taking him up on his offer. No, even if Chris was fine, she would still have to think about it - her personal life wasn't in tatters, but she could see the threads beginning to show. This was an opportunity in many ways, but she felt guilty even thinking about going anywhere without discussing it with Chris first. Maybe they were together and maybe they weren't, but either way, she valued his opinion.

Surmising her struggle by the look on her face, Leon understood what she was thinking; it was a big deal to just pack up and go chasing after shadows. Reaching across the table, he put his hand over hers in a comforting motion, "I won't be leaving until tomorrow at the earliest. Give me a call around nine."

Smiling weakly at him, she nodded, "Thank you. I will."

Getting up from the blocky dinning chair, Robin shook Leon's hand firmly, going back home, to Chris. Watching her go, he was curious about whether or not he would be making this journey alone, but he had the feeling that she would be joining him for one reason or another.

**Five Minutes Later...**

Counting backwards from twenty, Robin walked into Chris' living room, where he was engaging in his daily workout. Glistening with a healthy sheen of sweat, his shirtless form remained straight as she sat down on the couch and watched him, basking in her desert. His perfect muscles rippled as he finished a set of push-ups.

"I spoke with Leon today," She said mildly as he reached for a towel to wipe the sweat off his brow, "He has a job for me."

Pausing, he slowly brought the cloth down his face so that he could see her clearly, "Does he?"

Biting her lip, she reached subconsciously into her back pocket, expecting to find a cigarette pack. Of course, Chris had taken her smokes and was helping her to kick the habit, "He says that he's going after Noah's boss. He wants me to go with him. But... he's leaving tomorrow."

Chris actually liked Leon, not that he really knew him personally, but he had never made a pass at Claire, so therefore, he was alright in the older man's book, "Tomorrow?"

Robin nodded, teeth digging deeper into her flesh, "But I don't know if I'm going with him."

"Why wouldn't you?" He wasn't one for tests, but he found himself gauging her response.

She sighed, a playful gleam on her face, "Because of you. It didn't feel right making a decision without your input, and... We... We are partners, right? Business partners, like you and Sheva?"

He had been expecting her to ask him if they were dating, or to say she loved him at the very least. Was it wrong of him to want her to say those words? Part of him felt like it was, but the other part of him, the one that was in control, reasoned that he was justified in his desire for recognition. If Robin truly couldn't bring herself to let the world know, shouldn't she make it clear to him how she felt? Was it that she was frightened of scaring him away? Or was it something more?

"I would say so." He kept the edge out of his voice, letting his doubt fester.

She hated herself for not saying what she had been about to say, but she thought that if she were to voice how much she loved him, it might frighten him away: Guys had a tendency to run if you threw the "L" word around too much...

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Wow, I just keep going... The minute (more like second) I was finished with "Not Meant For Me", I began this! Hopefully peoples like this, and review.

**To Recap This Chapter:** Robin is sick with the stomach flu, and Chris is really worried about her; worried enough to call her father and reveal their relationship, what ever it is. A little later, Leon calls Robin with a proposition. Telling her to think about it, Leon gives her until the morning to answer.

**Song: **From one of my favorite movies ever - Repo! The Genetic Opera, sung by Blind Mag/ Sarah Brightman, "Chase The Morning". I chose this song for its obvious message, which is to follow your dreams.

**Disclaimer: **Capcom owns Resident Evil, not me. All respective properties, like, but not limited to, songs, belong to their respective brands. All I can lay claim to is the Varis family... and this work of fiction. Any game-related information used in this story comes from the Resident Evil Wikia, actual game play, and videos (official ones of the games) come from YouTube.


	2. Leave Out All The Rest

Mulling over Leon's proposal, Chris and Robin had retreated to opposite ends of his deep jade-green couch, looking as if they had been dejected, and in Robin's case, dead on her feet. Thinking along the exact same lines, the thoughts posed in a way that befit them individually, neither was very sure about this endeavor. Though nothing was being done about the relationship, was it really wise to leave when things were like this? Then again, maybe time apart would do them both some good? There was a cloud hanging over their heads, and if they didn't work things out soon, who knew how bad it could get.

Wrapped up in the silvery throw she had bought a few years back, Robin peeked over at Chris, his shoulders tense and brows knotted. She hadn't seen him this flustered since coming back from Kijuujuu. That's right, Chris was suffering form post traumatic stress back then, and if it weren't for her father calling when he did, they would have...

"Chris, we need to call my father." It sounded like she was going to hurl again, but he knew that this time it was her nerves. After being around her for so many years, he couldn't help but to know the difference.

If not for her panicked reaction to her own suggestion, he would have thought that she only wanted to ask him his opinion about going with Leon. However, before she could even reach for her phone, it began to vibrate in her back pocket. Set to play the Queen song "We Will Rock You" every time Claire Redfield called, they looked at each other, curious about why his younger sister would be calling Robin. Robin answered her phone, setting it to speaker so they both could hear what it was Claire had to say.

"Robin!" They could readily picture Claire as she spoke, bright and cheery no matter what was thrown her way.

Robin answered lightly, "Hello, Claire."

Not beating around the bush and eager to know something, she jumped right to it, "So, word on the grapevine is that you were out on a date today."

Chris and Robin looked at each other in confusion, though he remained silent as to not arouse Claire's attention, "With who?"

"Leon! Who else could it be? Apparently Moira saw you two at the cafe." She sounded as if she already had to say that a million times today.

Suddenly Robin regretted putting the phone on speaker. It wasn't a date, but if someone were to have seen it from the outside, she could understand how they would make that assumption, "Well, it wasn't a date - "

"It was. From what your sister told me, he even held your hand," Claire had just doomed Robin without realizing it.

"I was upset, and he was..." She trailed off, looking at Chris, "You know what, it wasn't a date. I know that and Leon knows that, so that's all that matters."

Claire clearly wasn't convinced, "Whatever you say."

Irritated that she now had to deal with this on top of everything else, Robin scowled, "I'm hanging up now."

Flipping her phone all the way off and ramming it back into her pocket, Robin cast a wary glance at Chris. To put it simply, he looked nothing short of furious. "What did you say to him?" His voice shook and sounded even more outraged than he appeared. "What did you say to him that you couldn't say to me?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you - You should believe me when I said that it wasn't a date." She became defensive, which was never a good idea in this sorts of situations.

"That I do believe," He was about to crack and lose his composure altogether, "What I don't see is why he would hold your hand."

"Because that's supposed to be your job?" She threw the blanket off, getting to her feet, "Has it ever occurred to you I was afraid? That I had no one else to turn to?"

He understood the need for multiple outlets, but for her to say that she had no one else to turn to was the worst thing she ever could have said to him, "You could have turned to me. But no, you won't say anything to me... You won't even tell me that you love me."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he was sounding like a big baby, but she had cut him deep just now.

Looking at him in disbelief, she had tears in her grey, amber-strewn eyes, "I do love you! With all of my heart and soul! You think I don't want to scream it from the mountaintops?" He didn't answer her, so she continued, "Do you want to know why I haven't told anyone about us? I'm afraid that you don't love me the way I love you, and that once you realize it, you'll feel obligated to stay with me because of my father."

Everything fell into place just then. Robin had been selflessly trying to save him face, but there was one flaw in her plan - He really did love her. Relieved that she was only misguided, he broke into a joyous grin, "Robin, I'm never going to realize something that isn't true. I love you."

She let out a surprised sniffle, "You do?"

Taking her into his arms, he whispered into her hair, "More than anything."

"I'm sorry I was such an idiot." She kissed his cheek, reaching back into her pocket for her phone, "Why don't we straighten this out?"

Putting his hand over hers while she was still fishing in her pocket, he gave her rump a slight squeeze, "Not quite yet."

Smirking perversely, rather found of make-up sex, Robin led Chris back to the couch...

**Fifteen Minutes Later...**

While on his way home, Barry had been called by his dear, sweet wife Kathy, who had been in stuck in the rumor mill with a number of people that day, only to learn offhandedly that Robin supposedly had been on a lunch date. He found that strange, since he had been under the impression that she was supposed to be babysitting for Katie that day. Concerned for his daughter's honor and good name, he had decided to see Chris, to ask if he might have known anything. If anyone would know about Robin's activities, it would probably be him. Adding fuel to the mystery, Robin's monstrous jeep was parked at his place, but why on earth would she be here when she should either be at Katie's or on a date?

Going up to the door, Barry knocked three times. After the third unanswered knock, he figured that Chris was too busy to get the door, though that didn't explain Robin if she was really here, so he produced his spare key and let himself in. Walking directly into the living room, he saw something that he never should have seen.

Blanket obscuring them from the waist down, Chris was straddling Robin, her head banging into the armrest. Thankfully for Barry, his vantage point prevented him from seeing things on her that a father never should see, adopted or not. Catching sight of their visitor, Robin pulled Chris closer on top of her as if he were a blanket, "Daddy! What are you doing here?"

Chris almost fell off of the couch when he looked over his shoulder and saw Barry. At least, he would have if Robin hadn't had her legs crossed around his back, "I can explain."

"..." Saying nothing to either of them, equally betrayed by those closest to him, Barry turned around and left the house of horrors. Whores. Horrors. He wasn't sure what he thought about what he had just seen, he knew only that he had been hurt.

Grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around her, she chased after her father, not caring at the moment that she was standing practically naked for the neighborhood to see, "Wait!"

He froze in place, but he didn't look at her. He couldn't bring himself to, "How long?"

"Since we got back. Daddy, he wanted to tell you..." She began to cry anew, "But I was an idiot!"

Unable to accept that answer, Barry held up his hand to silence her, and he left. She watched him go, her heart falling with every centimeter that separated them. Chris came out a moment too late, in pants, to see her standing on his porch, crying her eyes out. He led her back inside, trying to tell her that it wasn't her fault, even though it was.

Once he had finally gotten her to stop crying, her mother called Chris, figuring that her daughter would be a wreak over this, "Chris? Are you on speaker phone?"

After what had happened earlier? Not likely. "No."

"How's Robin?" Kathy asked, her voice low, leading him to think that Barry had no idea that she was calling.

He stroked her head, "Managing."

"That's good to hear. If it's not too much of a hassle, I was hoping that you could take care of her for a while." She sounded as if she were about to cry herself.

His heart sank, understanding that she had wanted Robin to stay away from the house for the time being, "Of course, she's welcome to stay here as long as she needs to."

Following the conversation, Robin sprang up, almost smacking her head into his, "What? I'm getting kicked out of my home?"

Overhearing her daughter, Kathy broke into tears, "Baby, I'm so sorry... Your father isn't taking this well. Just give him time, and he'll come around."

Sobbing, Robin threw herself into Chris's arms. He rubbed her shoulders, "Thanks for the warning."

"I'm sending the girls over with some of Robin's things tomorrow," Kathy began to rush, "Tell Robin that we love her.'

Hanging up, Chris looked at Robin. She would come to terms with this soon enough, but for now, she needed to cry it out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>I'm not happy with how this has turned out so far, so I'm gong to end the story here. Well, this story! I actually have a plot worked out for the next story, which was supposed to be this one, but I wasn't liking how things were going, so I'm just going to write another part to this.

**To Recap This Chapter:** Chris and Robin confront their inner demons and work things out, but Barry catches them in the sack together. Not pleased, he kicks Robin out of his house.

**Song: **"Leave Out All The Rest" by Linkin Park.

**Disclaimer: **Capcom owns Resident Evil, not me. All respective properties, like, but not limited to, songs, belong to their respective brands. All I can lay claim to is the Varis family... and this work of fiction. Any game-related information used in this story comes from the Resident Evil Wikia, actual game play, and videos (official ones of the games) come from YouTube.


End file.
